Redemption

Getting the house back: your window, your cost, your proof.

Redemption is the legal right to undo a tax sale by paying what the law says you owe. The window, the clock-start, and the cost formula are all set by your state's statute — and the traps (a premium that is not prorated, a payoff figure padded with fees) are where owners lose houses they could have saved.

Count my redemption deadline

The three shapes of redemption

Your state uses one of these

A counted window

A fixed period from a trigger date: 60 days in Delaware, 1 year in Georgia, 180 days (2 years for a homestead) in Texas, about 4 years in Wyoming. The checker computes your last day from your date.

Until the deed

No fixed count: you may redeem until the treasurer or a court issues the deed (Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, Washington). The danger is silence — nothing counts down visibly, so owners wait too long.

None after the sale

A few states end the right at the sale itself (New Mexico, Michigan after foreclosure, Pennsylvania under its Tax Sale Law). There, everything rides on the pre-sale doors — plans, deferrals, stays — and the surplus claim after.

The payoff figure: read it like a bill you dispute

Ask the county office for the redemption figure in writing, then check it against your state's formula on its state page. The lawful figure is: the tax and charges, the statutory interest or premium, and the costs the statute allows. Figures that add the buyer's travel, the buyer's attorney (where the statute does not allow it), or a 'processing fee' nobody can cite are negotiable in the only way that matters — by pointing at the statute. If the gap is large and the deadline is close, that is the moment a real-estate attorney earns a consultation fee.

Your state's formula and citation · Redeem, step by step

Included in the $49 TaxSaleDecoded Kit

  • The surplus claim pack: how to prove the house was yours (deed records, address history, ID), the claim-form path in your state, and what to do when the county says it has no record of your money
  • The redemption playbook: your state's window and cost formula worked step by step, who to pay, how to prove you paid, and the traps in the payoff figure (added fees and interest)
  • The heirs page: the house was a parent's — what changes, which papers prove you are an heir, and the point where it stops being simple
  • The scam shield: how surplus-recovery companies work, the fee caps your state sets for them, and the assignment papers you should never sign
  • The lookback module: what Tyler won, what Pung limited (the extra money is the sale price minus the debt — not your home's value), and the dated state lookbacks, including Illinois claims that die in July 2028

Get the TaxSaleDecoded Kit — $49

One payment of $49. No subscription. The kit is a web page you can return to and print — the claim pack, the redemption playbook, the heirs page, and the scam shield.

Redemption questions

How much does it cost to redeem?

The tax you owed, plus interest or a penalty the state sets, plus costs — and in Texas a flat premium of 25% of everything in year one (50% in year two for a homestead), which is not prorated: redeeming on day 10 costs the same premium as day 360. Every state page on this site carries its formula and citation.

Can I pay part of it and stop the clock?

In most states, no — redemption requires the full amount, and a partial payment does not pause anything. A few states expressly allow partial payments toward redemption (New Hampshire, Rhode Island). Never assume; your state page says.

Who do I pay — the buyer or the county?

Almost always the county office (treasurer, collector, or chancery clerk), never the investor directly. Paying the wrong party is a classic trap. The office issues your proof of redemption; keep it with the deed records.

What starts my clock?

It depends on the state: the sale date (Georgia, South Carolina), the deed-recording date (Texas), the confirmation date (Tennessee), the foreclosure judgment (Oregon). The checker counts from the right trigger for your state — enter the date from the county's letter, not the day you heard about it.